Ode to David Gibson (1951-2019)
Being at a Scrabble tournament always makes me think of the late David Gibson who died suddenly of cancer right before the pandemic in November 2019 (obituary). David Gibson is my all-time Scrabble hero and was the best Scrabble player in the world. Gibson would not have come to Vegas (he didn’t like to fly), but his spirit is definitely present and many people here would’ve known him. He was active in the Asheville Scrabble club and generously mentored players (including myself!) from all over the world.
His last Nationals was in Fort Wayne where he started out his first morning 2-2 and then went on to dominate most of the tournament in Division I. I remember seeing him in between games (me, the lowly Division 3 player) and he would ask, how are you doing? Meanwhile he was mopping up the floor at Ft. Wayne - winning 1st place handily. In the Nationals appearance before that (2012), Gibson lost first place to another Scrabble legend, Nigel Richards (who famously won the French National Scrabble Dictionary without knowing French). Gibson and Richards had the same Win-Loss record (22-9), but Richards had an overall point spread difference in the tourney that was 16 points more than Gibson’s spread. In the course of 31 games where might he have picked up 16 measly points??? There are some really fun YouTube histories of Nigel vs. David that Will Anderson made.
Off the Scrabble clock, David Gibson was a math professor at Southern Methodist College and played Scrabble nightly with his wife, Nancy, in their “Scrabble Room.” This reminds me of my parents who have also had a nightly Scrabble game for as long as I can remember.
Gibson is described as modest, soft-spoken, and a "provincial mystic.” As a testament to his modesty and supreme awesomeness, when Gibson won one tournament he set aside some of the prize money for charity and divvied up the rest of the winnings in individual checks (along with a handwritten note) sent to every competitor not finishing in the top 10 of the tournament (from Sports Illustrated article).
The “Gibson Rule”. Gibson had such a knack for winning that an official Scrabble rule was created and named after him during the 1995 Super Stars SCRABBLE Championship. David had clinched the #1 slot with more rounds to play. No matter what, no player would be able to catch up to him. The Gibson rule was instated so that the #1 player can be “Gibsonized” and removed from playing in the final rounds. This allows the competitors vying for 2nd and 3rd and so on to play amongst themselves instead of damaging their ratings or shot for 2nd or 3rd by playing #1. Gibson was frequently “gibsonized” in local tournaments.
I had the good fortune of playing some friendlies with David Gibson in Knoxville, TN (image above). I can attest to his humility, kindness, and straight-up wizardry with words. We played as a team against Mia & Nancy. I was frustrated that we had 0 blanks in two games and pretty terrible tile luck. But David on the other hand was enjoying the games and said he actually thought it more fun to work with a bad rack. We lost those games, but I (humble jedi-master-in-training) learned a lot in the process. Playing with this Scrabble legend has helped me coin my mantra for Nationals (and for all Scrabble games) ... WWDGD (What would David Gibson Do?).
The short answer to WWDGD? is ... WIN. The longer answer to the question is: be humble, play your best, reflect on the games afterwards using Quackle (his advice to me), and think of each rack as a new, fun challenge.
Price, S.L. “Your Words against Mine.” Sports Illustrated 83, no. 26 (December 18, 1995): 106.
